BarcelonaHired i3 Ventures to purposely discredit opponents

The crisis at Barcelona continues to get worse and worse, yet with the club threatening legal action against those who disseminate the information regarding their partnership with i3 Ventures, Josep Maria Bartomeu has confirmed they will defend themselves as much as they feel necessary.

Bartomeu was at the centre of the episode, with it suggested that these services of the PR company actually serve to publicly cleanse the image of the current president.

"I claim the club model that we have at Barcelona, we have traditions and we will defend ourselves as much as we feel necessary against those who accuse us of such practices," Bartomeu detailed at a press conference.

"It is true we hired this company in 2017, however if one of these companies had made improper comments, we would have terminated the contract instantly.

"We merely have commissioned the monitoring of social networks, we haven't commissioned anyone to discredit people, we will persecute those who accuse us of these things, we do things with the transparency and responsibility that Barcelona require."

Despite initially making this statement, Bartomeu refused to take any further questions on the matter from the journalists gathered at the Manuel Vazquez Montalban International Journalism Award Gala.